The central theoretical statement of this study stated that fathers have an active and effective role as mentors in transmitting values to the family and should be equipped for taking up this role, which may be applied in a pastoral-theological model. The idea of values for the father with regard to his role as mentor is defined and investigated in this study. The article format has been used in this thesis so that it consists of five articles which form a unity. In article one Scriptural pointers for the leaders and fathers being mentors to their followers (mentees) in the Old Testament are discussed. From the information summarized from the article, it is deduced that the leaders and fathers from the Old Testament served as mentors to their followers (mentees) with regard to values. Any leader or mentor can apply the principles and guidelines from the Old Testament to fathering, mentoring and transmitting values to a situation in everyday life. Article two deals with scriptural pointers for the leaders and father-figures as mentors to their followers (mentees) in the New Testament. From the information summarized from the article, it is deduced that the leaders and father figures from the New Testament served as mentors to their followers (mentees) with regard to values. Discipleship indicated the importance and significance of followers (mentees). Any leader or mentor can apply the guidelines and principles from the New Testament about leading, fathering, mentoring, discipling with regard to values even today. In article three the literature study on the fields of psychology, social work, psychiatric nursing and education were investigated in terms of family, fathering, mentoring and values. With regard to values those values according to Joubert (1986) and Heenan (2004) were used and integrated with values for the role of the father as mentor in the family context. The complexity of families and family structures in the real world were identified and discussed. The recommendations from this article are used to direct the empirical research on the role of the father as mentor with regard to values. The broader aim is to show how society may be impacted positively. Article four (chapter 5) deals with the empirical research that found that mentoring is needed and fathers should be mentors to their families. They should also be equipped with Christian values (the co-researchers consistently referred to Christian values which will serve as recommendation for further studies) in order to show that they can effect positive change to influence society. In article five (chapter 6) contours of a pastoral-theological model for the father as mentor in the transmission of Christian values are formulated. This model could possibly be applied to other spheres of life such as institutions (schools, colleges and universities), churches, societies and businesses to raise the effectiveness of these organizations through the mentoring of values. Topics for further research: * Equipping the mother as mentor in the transmission of Christian values. * Equipping children with Christian values so that they may be mentors to their peers. * Equipping children with Christian values so that they can be resistant to bad and inappropriate behaviour. * Equipping the family with Christian values so that they can be a mentor unit to other families in society. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The relationship between a child and its parents (caregivers) is essential for the child’s development and well-being. When one of these parents uses violence against the other parent (intimate partner violence, IPV), this will affect the child one way or another: physically, psychologically, cognitively, socially. When two parents separate, the circumstances surrounding contact between the child and its parents change. The aim of this thesis is to analyse – in the context of Swedish parenting ideals and family norms – aspects of children’s relationships (after parental separation) with a father who has used violence against the mother in order to bring forward a foundation to discuss if and under what circumstances a continued contact is in the best interest of the child. The empirical basis for the thesis consists of two different sets of data. The first is qualitative interviews with children living at a women’s shelter (n=10). The second is a subset of data from a large evaluation study investigating support tochildren who had witnessed IPV. The latter material  comprises interviews with and psychometric data on 165 mothers and 165 children. Results from the first article show that a majority of the children (75%) had continued contact with their fathers after parental separation, and that even in cases where there were indications of child abuse, about 50% of the children had unsupervised face-to-face contact with their fathers. This high rate can possibly be explained by the assumption (supported in legislation) that children have a need for contact. Further, the second article shows that children with and without contact do not differ in their level of well-being; i.e. contact with a violent father does not have the positive effect on children that has been found in general samples. In the third article, the violent fathers are described by the children as lazy and unreliable. Child–father contact is discussed in terms of why, when and how contact is in the child’s best interest.

No description available.

No description available.

La présente étude longitudinale a pour objectif d’évaluer la stabilité de la relation d’activation père-enfant entre 12-18 mois et 3-5 ans. De plus, nous nous intéressons aux facteurs qui pourraient être associés à la stabilité ou l’instabilité. La situation risquée a été conduite auprès des 39 dyades père-enfant aux deux temps de mesures, soit lorsque l’enfant était âgé entre 12 et 18 mois et lorsqu’il était âgé entre 3 et 5 ans. Le questionnaire d’ouverture au monde ainsi que le questionnaire d’évènements de vie ont été passés aux pères. Les résultats démontrent que seulement 46 % des enfants sont demeurés stables. L’instabilité et la stabilité ne se sont pas révélées associées significativement à aucun des facteurs mesurés. / Father-child activation relationship at 12-18 months and 3-5 years, and factors related to stability or instability were examined in 39 father-child dyads. Activation relationship was assessed using the Risky Situation when the child was between 12 and 18 months old and when he/she was between 3 and 5 years old. The Openness to The World Questionnaire and the Life Event Questionnaire were used to assess the factors that could be related to instability. Results show that the father-child activation relationship has poor stability (46 %) and no factor was found to be related to stability or instability.

The current study investigated the importance of a father-adolescent relationship when a mother experiences depressive symptomatology. Specifically, does a sensitive father serve to buffer his adolescent's social-emotional well-being from the potential negative outcomes associated with maternal depression (e.g., depression, anxiety; Bureau, Easterbrooks, & Ruth-Lyons, 2009; Cummings et al. 2005; increased behavior problems and psychopathology; Garstein & Sheeber, 2004)? Secondary statistical analyses were ran on 498 families of adolescents using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care (SECC) longitudinal data set. Results indicate that having a sensitive father does moderate the relationship between a mother who has depressive symptoms and her adolescent daughter's depressive and anxious symptoms. An adolescent girl with a depressed mother will experience fewer anxious/depressed symptoms when she has a father high on sensitivity; however when her father is lower on sensitivity, she will experience more anxious depressed symptoms. The results were not significant for externalizing behavior, thus having a sensitive father did not serve as a buffer between maternal depression and adolescent externalizing symptoms.

No description available.

This study aims at exploring how fathers' parenting strategies and the relationship they have with their children influences the children's ability to form other relationships outside the home. The study is based on parenting strategies identified by Diana Baumrind. Reviewed literature state that where a relationship between the father and his children is good, the children are more confident, stable and secure and therefore able to form seemingly stable social relationships. Where the relationship between father and his children is unhealthy, the children may be unsure of themselves and find it harder to form relationship outside the home. The parenting strategy resulting in the best relationships between the father and his children is the authoritative parenting strategy. Authoritative fathers set rules and follow them through while allowing dialogue. They encourage the development of self-identity and are lovingly involved in their children's lives. All participating fathers in this study have a son and daughter in the age range 13 to 25 years and all are able to communicate in English. The four participating fathers are from different ethnic groups, religious faith and professions. For each father interviewed, a son and a daughter were interviewed too. The same father parenting strategies identified in the literature were identified in this study. Three fathers fit the description of the authoritative parental strategy. Their six children agree that their relationships with their fathers are good. Even though these fathers are strict, they are loving and therefore the children feel secure and confident. These children are able to form stable relationships outside the home. The fourth father is an abusive father whose relationship with his children is unhealthy. His children are not very secure and are withdrawn. They have very few friends because they are afraid of the repercussions from friends discovering they have problems with their father. This study is a door opener in an area with little documented research namely parenting strategies in Africa in general and fathering strategies in particular. There is a need to explore the field further in order to develop training and care-giving structures based on African parental voices. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study aims at exploring how fathers' parenting strategies and the relationship they have with their children influences the children's ability to form other relationships outside the home. The study is based on parenting strategies identified by Diana Baumrind. Reviewed literature state that where a relationship between the father and his children is good, the children are more confident, stable and secure and therefore able to form seemingly stable social relationships. Where the relationship between father and his children is unhealthy, the children may be unsure of themselves and find it harder to form relationship outside the home. The parenting strategy resulting in the best relationships between the father and his children is the authoritative parenting strategy. Authoritative fathers set rules and follow them through while allowing dialogue. They encourage the development of self-identity and are lovingly involved in their children's lives. All participating fathers in this study have a son and daughter in the age range 13 to 25 years and all are able to communicate in English. The four participating fathers are from different ethnic groups, religious faith and professions. For each father interviewed, a son and a daughter were interviewed too. The same father parenting strategies identified in the literature were identified in this study. Three fathers fit the description of the authoritative parental strategy. Their six children agree that their relationships with their fathers are good. Even though these fathers are strict, they are loving and therefore the children feel secure and confident. These children are able to form stable relationships outside the home. The fourth father is an abusive father whose relationship with his children is unhealthy. His children are not very secure and are withdrawn. They have very few friends because they are afraid of the repercussions from friends discovering they have problems with their father. This study is a door opener in an area with little documented research namely parenting strategies in Africa in general and fathering strategies in particular. There is a need to explore the field further in order to develop training and care-giving structures based on African parental voices. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Le nombre de familles monoparentales dirigées par des pères isolés atteint un niveau record non seulement en France mais aussi dans la majorité des pays occidentaux. Dans le cadre de la présente recherche doctorale, nous nous intéressons à la consommation familiale assurée par des pères en situation de cumul de rôles, celui du père et de la mère. Nous nous interrogeons sur la façon dont les pères isolés assurent et éprouvent l’achat familial et la sphère domestique traditionnellement perçue comme féminine. Nous identifions trois types de pères isolés selon leurs stratégies d’assurer et/ou de déléguer le rôle de la mère. Notre recherche montre que l’achat familial, les tâches domestiques ainsi que le soin des enfants constituent des éléments constructifs de l’identité paternelle de ces pères. Le shopping et la consommation familiale contribuent à la (re)construction du rôle du père. En outre, notre recherche montre que la consommation contribue à la construction d’une nouvelle famille à travers notamment la création de nouvelles relations entre les pères isolés et leurs enfants. / Nowadays, a record number of households are runned by single fathers not only in France but also in most of western societies. Our research aims to explore how single fathers experience the domestic sphere, a traditionally feminized field, while accomplishing their role of fathers. These fathers are living a situation of cumulating roles: the role of the father and the role of the mother. We identify three main categories of single fathers depending on their strategies to copy and/or delegate the role of the mother. Household duties such as shopping, cooking and housekeeping in addition to the nurturing role are experienced by many of the respondents as constructing elements of their fatherhood. Moreover, we identify the role of the marketplace and consumption in building a new family, particularly by creating new relationships between single fathers and their children.